Damian Lewis: 'Homeland is explosive and controversial'

Damian Lewis has described his new show Homeland as "explosive and controversial".

The actor told the The Los Angeles Times that his character Nicholas Brody is like "a controlled explosion".

"This is really an explosive and controversial character," he said. "And what's important to me in this piece is that any preconceptions about who's bad and who's good are challenged. The world is revealed as less black-and-white than some people believe."

Lewis also praised the Showtime drama's writing team, admitting that he had been "surprised by [their] honesty".

"They have remained true to what they had originally pitched to me," he confirmed.

The actor added that he feels "incredibly lucky" to be appearing in the Showtime drama, which follows Brody as he returns to US soil after being held by Al-Qaeda for eight years.

"The shows are big commitments, and there's nothing more discouraging than knowing you're not reaching creative points where there's so many opportunities to really fly," he explained. "It feels great to be here."